Review of the year: All the top stories from Witney in 2023

Here are the top stories of 2023.

January

West Oxfordshire District Council, which already owned the freehold, bought Marriotts Walk shopping centre in Witney for £9.16million.

Councillor Duncan Enright, deputy leader and cabinet member for economic development, said it was part of the council's work "to support our town centres and help boost our local economy". 

Elsewhere, a gang smashed their way into a farmhouse near Eynsham while a five-year-old child slept upstairs.

Thames Valley Police said the group prised a gun safe from the wall. They also took designer watches and bags and a 69-plate Nissan Juke that, collectively, was worth £200,000.

February

Developer Ainscough Strategic Land won an appeal to build 120 homes on The Moors in Ducklington despite 300 objections.

But following a fiercely fought campaign by villagers and councillors, the Environment Agnecy was forced to carry out a review of its flood map for Ducklington, which is on the River Windrush.

It found the flood risk had been "under-represented" and its updated map may change how many homes can be built on the site.

The plans have so far only received outline planning permission, and more detailed proposals will need to be submitted before they can be approved. It may also require increased flood mitigation measures to be put in place.

March

Jeremy Clarkson's planning appeal hearing against the council's refusal of permission for a restaurant and a car park extension at his Diddly Squat Farm took place at the WODC offices in Witney.

In a decision issued in June the Planning Inspectorate granted permission for the car park extension but upheld the council’s rejection of the restaurant.

The lawyer representing the council described the farm as a ‘leisure attraction’ but the inspector did not accept that description as ‘it does not ask for an entrance fee’ and therefore is 'not comparable to say a Wildlife Park or miniature railway'.

Mr Perrins did accept, however, that the increased tourism from the farm was causing disruption to those who live nearby.

The planning permission for the car park was granted for three years and a restoration of the site must be completed following that period. But the enforcement notice for the restaurant stands.

April

As part of plans to boost Witney town centre, a canopy of umbrellas brought a splash of colour to Marriotts Walk when a display was installed for the whole of the summer.

Campaigners issued a legal challenge over the decision not to require over 2,000 homes at the planned Salt Cross Garden Village north of the A40 near Eynsham to be net zero.

The Government’s planning inspector approved most of the plans, including targets for biodiversity and for affordable housing, but not the requirement for the homes to be built to net zero standards.

Activists Rights Community Action took the government to court for ‘watering down’ the council’s net zero ambitions. The case is pending.

Pet owners raised the alarm after a cat was killed and six others maimed in a spate of air rifle shootings. Two cats were injured in the same close in Carterton after at least another three were shot the previous year.

May

It was the Coronation of Charles III and the bunting  went up ahead of a weekend of commemorative events. The official Coronation Cry was delivered in the Market Square before the Coronation, and the Coronation Concert, were screened live on the Corn Exchange big screen.

The Big Lunch at the Leys was a family friendly picnic broadcast on Windrush Radio with free tennis and refreshments from the Coffee Shed, and children’s fairground rides and food stalls from Hatwell’s funfair.

Witney Vikings organised football darts, there were Morris dancers, prizes for the best fancy dress and photo opportunities with a throne, crown cape and lifesize Charles and Camilla.

Senior West Oxfordshire Scout Sarah Townsend was invited to Westminster Abbey itself here she rubbed shoulders with TV royalty Ant and Dec.

Ms Townsend, who mobilised a team to deliver prescriptions during the pandemic, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2021 New Year Honours list.

At the local elections the Liberal Democrats became the council's largest party. The West Oxfordshire Alliance of Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Greens reaffirmed their partnership and continues to run the council.

June

Dozens of people turned out to fly the rainbow flag and celebrate the LGBTQ community at the second Witney Pride. Following a march through the High Street, there was live music, dancing, food and drink on the Leys. West Oxfordshire District Council flew the Pride flag at its Woodgreen offices.

Thousands laughed off thunder and a sudden downpour to party at Witney Music Festival. The event, which started in hot sunshine which turned to extreme storms, featured a DJ set from indie icon Bez and Phats and Small alongside a host of local bands.

Bungling contractors left Woodgreen School without power during the crucial exam week when during work on a gas main near Woodstock Road, fibre optic contractors cut through the gas and electricity supply. Wood Green School was left running on a diesel generator.

Global healthcare company Abbott announced it is to invest £85million into expanding its manufacturing base in Witney, creating more than 400 new jobs. Abbott said it needs to grow to meet demand for its FreeStyle Libre flash system which measures sugar levels in diabetics.

The investment at its site on Range Road in the Windrush Industrial Park will create hundreds of new jobs by 2028 and see staff numbers at the site increase by almost 50 per cent.

July

Huge crowds turned out for the Witney Carnival as the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang led the town parade.

Opposition grew to the proposed 2,500 acre Botley West Solar Farm based across three different sites north of Woodstock, west of Kidlington and west of Botley.

If approved the facility would impact Tackley, Wootton, Glympton, Bladon, Woodstock, Long Hanborough, Church Hanborough, Rousham, Eynsham and Cassington in West Oxfordshire as well as Cumnor, west of Oxford.

Much of the land is owned by the Blenheim Estate. Plans were reviewed in October after Merton College pulled out of the scheme which is opposed by residents group Stop Botley West, West Oxfordshire parish councils, CPRE, Cumnor Parish Council and Oxford West MP Layla Moran.

Witney MP Robert Courts started a constituents’ petition which he has presented to parliament “to show the strength of feeling”. 

Developer Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP), which has just launched a second round of public consultation, said it would be able to power up to 330,000 homes. 

August

The first phase of plans totalling more than £100million to ease congestion on the A40 were given the green light. Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet agreed the initial proposals for housing infrastructure fund (HIF2) - a £106.7million programme to improve the A40 between Witney and the north of Oxford.

The project will support the delivery of more than 20,000 new homes around Eynsham.

Spitfire enthusiast Trevor Bailey, 68, was killed when his replica aircraft crashed into a field near the A44 in Enstone. Mr Bailey, from Cheltenham, was part of The Spitfire Club, based at Enstone Airfield, which is building 15 replicas of the iconic Second World War aircraft. Mr Bailey's widow, Kate Dove, said he “lost his life following his passion”. 

September

Sports Direct announced it is to open in the former Debenhams in Marriotts Walk which had lain empty for three years.

But a landmark shop said it is to close after 70 years of trading and move entirely online. R N Peace, known as Witney Blankets, had been on the town's high street since 1953, selling household linen and bedding. Second generation owner Robert Peace said his retirement plans and low footfall were behind the decision to shut its doors.

A rare uncorrected proof copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, one of only 200 printed by Bloomsbury in 1997, discovered by chance this summer at St Kenelm’s Primary School in Minster Lovell raised thousands at auction.

It went missing for eight years and the school, which bought it for £1 in 1997, feared it had been accidentally thrown away. However, it turned up during a summer tidy-up. It went under the hammer on September 5 at Hansons Auctioneers with a guide price of £15,000-£20,000.

Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) announced plans to close Wychwood Brewery in Witney, blaming fierce competition and the need to cut costs. Hobgoblin ales, as well as Wychwood brands Firecatcher and Dry Neck beers, will now be brewed at CMBC’s other sites which include breweries such as Marston’s Brewery in Burton-on-Trent.

The brewery has a history stretching back 150 years in Witney. Consumer group CAMRA said it was ‘the latest casualty of the beer giants' and 'part of the slow destruction of the heritage of British brewing'.

A furious mother who took the fight against crime into her own hands and picketed the home of a thief who had stolen her son’s bike said “he has got away with it”. At Oxford Crown Court David Seagar, 49, who stole eight bicycles in Witney in a summer-long spree, swerved jail.

Instead he was given two years imprisonment suspended for two years, with requirements to complete a drug rehabilitation scheme and the thinking skills programme.

Fiona Bateman picketed Seagar's home with a placard saying 'Where's my bike Dave?' after she saw him pinch her son’s mountain bike from their carport on Madley Park on a neighbour’s CCTV.

Following the sentencing she said: “It’s just frustrating that he got a slap on the wrist." The story was picked up by many national newspapers and Mrs Bateman appeared on Radio 2.

October

A 'fireball' explosion was seen for miles and the sky was said to have ‘pulsated orange’ after a lightning strike ignited biogas at the Severn Trent Green Power plant in Cassington.

Six fire engines, 40 firefighters, police at least four ambulances rushed to the scene. Police urged residents to stay indoors and the A40 between Wolvercote and Eynsham was closed for a period as flames lit up the night sky.

Power cuts were reported as far afield as Witney, Burford, Chipping Norton and Milton under Wychwood.

There were calls for a safety review of the notorious Barnard Gate junction on the A40 after Thames Valley Air Ambulance attended an accident in which a woman suffered serious injuries requiring hospitalisation.

There were also incidents at the junction on October 29, September 29, September 9 and August 20, according to Crash Map Data.

Oxfordshire County Council published its report looking into the feasibility of a rail route connecting Carterton, Witney and Eynsham to Oxford. The study showed building a rail link would reduce journey times but it also identified planning and environmental issues.

It found the construction costs of building the rail line alone, before buying the land, are estimated at between £700 - £900 million.

Campaigners WOT said it was only realistic solution to A40 congestion and the Government should fund it and build it as soon as possible. Witney MP Robert Courts said the potentially "£1billion" project was "unaffordable" and the district would have to be "concreted over" with housing to raise enough funds to build it. 

Courtside, the social enterprise behind The Coffee Shed and Premier Tennis, submitted plans for the £700,000 development of their community café at The Leys Recreation Ground.

The plans include a refurbishment of the community café with a new kitchen and increased indoor and outdoor seating, improved public access toilets and changing rooms, indoor activity space and a redesigned skatepark.

Also included are four full-size tennis courts, mini tennis courts, covered Padel courts and a mix of other outdoor recreational facilities including netball, 3x3 basketball and table tennis. There will also be LED court lighting.

December

Witney's high street was packed with thousands of families for the Christmas lights event. Dozens of food and shopping stalls lined the streets and crowds were entertained with live music, choirs, a funfair, a steam engine and Father Christmas in his grotto. 

The lights were switched on by Wood Green Interact joint presidents Matilda and Emmeline. The event was organised by the Rotary Club of Witney and sponsored by local businesses, including main sponsors Witney Town Council, Abbott Diabetes Care, Chris Hayter Transport and Sportif Suzuki.

Witney Town Council revealed the plans for the reimagined Wheeled Sports Park at the Leys, which is due to open next March.